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ISSUE: 1

FORUM: Special Conference

QUESTION OF: Devising a program to promote the collection of rainwater as a measure to improve global water management

MAIN-SUBMITTER: China

CO-SUBMITTERS: UNEP, European Union, France, Belgium, USA, Argentina, Togo, Botswana, Italy

THE SPECIAL CONFERENCE,
Conscious about the devastating impact of the diminishing supply of water globally,

Affirming that population growth, high rates of urbanization.imperatives of economic development and social equity have caused an increase in demand for agricultural, industrial and domestic water uses,

Alarmed by the increasing child mortalityrates (1.5 million children under the age of five die every year due to lack of clean drinking water) due to intake of contaminated water and lack of water,

Deeply disturbed that the cost of drought and/or flooding runs to millions of dollars every year, a price that many African countries cannot afford to incur or to prevent,

Alarmed by the statistic that in sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 400 million people live in countries facing severe water scarcity,

Fully aware that frequent droughts in Southern Africa are threatening availability of food and food security in the region,

Confident that rainwater harvesting systems can provide water at or near the point where water is needed or used,

Reaffirming that rainwater harvesting is an inexpensive means of collecting water, as it uses existing structures (i.e. rooftops, parking lots, playgrounds, parks, ponds, flood plains, etc),

Recognizing that rainwater harvesting has few negative environmental impacts compared to other technologies for water resources development,

Noting that rainwater is usually superior in quality to sources of groundwater that may have been subjected to contamination,

Believing that rainwater harvesting construction, operation and maintenance are not labour intensive,

Noting with satisfaction that Millennium Development Goal 7 target 10 (halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation) has been met by the United Nations,

Fully alarmed that water scarcity affects one in three people on every continent of the globe,

Recalling that almost one fifth of the world’s population live in areas where the water is physically scarce,

Keeping in mind that increases in demand for freshwater are anticipated in all African countries, in all sectors (domestic, agricultural and industrial), over the next ten years,

Fully believingthat water is an essential resource to sustain life, and that governments and community organizations must make it a priority to deliver adequate supplies of quality water to people,

  1. Calls upon member states to impose strict policies to reduce private and commercial water usage by encouraging rainwater harvesting techniques:

a)Recommends member states to make rainwater harvesting mandatory for all government buildings

b)Urgesmember states to implement a policy that makes rainwater harvesting mandatory in all new buildings with a roof area more than 100 sq m and in all plots with an area of more than 1000 sq m;

  1. Inviting UNEP to work with governments in devising various programmes to promote the collection of rainwater harvesting such as:

a)Providing incentives for industries and households to use rainwater collection such as gutters on rooftops as a means of meeting their water requirements especially in countries where funding is limited

b)Encourages each member state to develop an infrastructure which permits harvested rainwater to be used by needy inhabitants in their country or to use collected water to irrigate public parks or clean streets;

  1. Appeals to donor countries, NGOs, the IMF, and the World Bank to provide financial support to these programs and urges MEDCs to work alongside LEDCs to implement rainwater harvesting management, such as financial aid and educational support;
  1. Advises member states to establish national rainwater collection associations to promote sustainable rainwater harvesting practices and monitor the progress of governmental associations related to the matter:

a)Invites member states to develop national associations, such as the UK Rainwater Harvesting Association (UKRHA)

b)Calls uponthe inter-state coordination of water resources, such as the Southern and Eastern Africa Rain Water Harvesting Network (SEARNET);

  1. Congratulatingthe efforts of the UN Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) to promote the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems;
  1. Expressing appreciation for the work of the Global Water Partnership (GWP);
  1. Emphasises capacity building for environmental assessment of water resources provided at the regional, sub-regional and national levels;
  1. Endorses the expansion of micro loans for individuals to purchase water tanks in developing countries;
  1. Calls upon member states to have clear and long-term commitment to provide financial and human resources support to ensure successful implementation of IWRM approaches;
  1. Encourages member states to recognize water as an economic good to promote equitable allocation and sustainable usage of water;
  1. Trusts that for rainwater harvesting to be successful, there must be full participation by all stakeholders, including workers and the community;
  1. Reminds member states that these programs should be in place by December 2015;
  1. Decides to remain actively seized upon the matter.